A novel enzyme with a specific phenylalanine aminopeptidase activity (ApsC) from Aspergillus niger (CBS 120.49) has been characterized. The derived amino acid sequence is not similar to any previously characterized aminopeptidase sequence but does share similarity with some mammalian acyl-peptide hydrolase sequences. ApsC was found to be most active towards phenylalanine beta-naphthylamide (F-b...

The amino acid sequence of a decapeptide with growth hormone-releasing activity, isolated from porcine hypothalami has been determined. The Edman dansyl procedure was used on the intact peptide and on fragments isolated from tryptic and papain digests. The sequence found was confirmed by the results of digestion with aminopeptidase M, leucine aminopeptidase, and carboxypeptidase A and B. On the...

Yeast aminopeptidase I is a vacuolar enzyme, which catalyzes the removal of amino acids from the NH2 terminus of peptides and proteins (Frey, J., and Rohm, K-H. (1978) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 527, 31-41). A yeast genomic DNA encoding aminopeptidase I was cloned from a yeast EMBL3A library and sequenced. The DNA sequence encodes a precursor protein containing 514 amino acid residues. The "mature"...

Aminopeptidase P (EC 3.4.11.9) was solubilized from pig kidney membranes with bacterial phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC) and then purified by a combination of anion-exchange and hydrophobic-interaction chromatographies. Contaminating peptidase activities were removed by selective affinity chromatography. The purified enzyme was apparently homogeneous on SDS/PAGE with an Mr...

Plasmodium falciparum has limited capacity for de novo amino acid synthesis and rely on degradation of host hemoglobin to maintain protein metabolism and synthesis of proteins. M1 alanine aminopeptidase enzyme of the parasite involved in the terminal degradation of host hemoglobin was subjected to in silico screening with low molecular weight protease inhibitors. The km (avg) of the enzyme M1 a...

Enkephalin, a brain peptide with morphine-like activities, is rapidly inactivated by a membrane-associated aminopeptidase present in brain. Evidence presented here suggests that enkephalin binding to opiate receptors is coupled to subsequent aminopeptidase degradation. This conclusion is based upon the following observations. 1) Enkephalin degradation, at concentrations 4 orders of magnitude be...

Malaria aminopeptidases are important in the generation and regulation of free amino acids that are used in protein anabolism and for maintaining osmotic stability within the infected erythrocyte. The intraerythrocytic development of malaria parasites is blocked when the activity of aminopeptidases is specifically inhibited by reagents such as bestatin. One of the major aminopeptidases of malar...

IL-4 up-regulates various monocytic properties that are associated with pro-inflammatory functions. Paradoxically, IL-4 may also act as an anti-inflammatory agent by down-regulating the production of several inflammatory mediators. As the activity of some mediators has recently been shown to be regulated by peptidases, we examined whether IL-4 was able to modulate the expression of a cell membr...

The predicted amino acid sequence of the cDNA encoding the murine B-lymphocyte differentiation antigen BP-1/6C3 suggested that it is a member of the zinc-dependent metalloprotease family, possibly an aminopeptidase related to aminopeptidase N [microsomal aminopeptidase; alpha-aminoacyl-peptide hydrolase (microsomal), EC 3.4.11.2]. In the present studies, we examined the enzymatic activity of th...

The availability of highly purified leucine aminopeptidase (LAP)’ from swine kidney (3) has made it possible to study the action of this enzyme on protein and polypeptide substrates. By analogy with its action on amino acid amides and small peptides, the aminopeptidase should possess no endopeptidase activity and should hydrolyze only those peptide bonds which are adjacent to a free a-amino gro...